Changes to student mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic
This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [What does this mean?].
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Toth, Eszter
Faherty, Thomas
Mazaheri, Ali
Raymond, Jane E.
Abstract / Description
Background: Although many anecdotal reports and a handful of studies on Asian and European students suggest pandemic-related degradation in student mental health, research on UK undergraduates is lacking. Aim: Our aim was to redress this short fall by assessing how university student mental health in the UK in Autumn 2020 (during the pandemic) compared to previous years. Sample: 762 UK undergraduate students participated in the study. Methods: A well-validated, self-report, 21-item scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to assess mental health. Results were compared to data obtained using the same scale on similar, albeit smaller cohorts in each of the previous three years. Results: Autumn 2020 students reported greater levels of depression and anxiety than their peers from previous years. Stress was high but remained unchanged compared to previous years. Conclusion: Compared to previous years, UK students show elevated symptoms of mental health problems, underscoring the importance of mental health-oriented support for students.
Keyword(s)
university students mental health pandemic depression anxiety stressPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2021-03-01
Publisher
PsychArchives
Citation
Toth, E., Faherty, T., Mazaheri, A., & Raymond, J. E. (2021). Changes to student mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. PsychArchives. https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.4635
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Student_mental_health_during_pandemic_Tothetal.pdfAdobe PDF - 430.42KBMD5: 235e672960d3cac23e0699a730ba7dde
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Toth, Eszter
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Faherty, Thomas
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Mazaheri, Ali
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Raymond, Jane E.
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2021-03-01T16:25:49Z
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Made available on2021-03-01T16:25:49Z
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Date of first publication2021-03-01
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Abstract / DescriptionBackground: Although many anecdotal reports and a handful of studies on Asian and European students suggest pandemic-related degradation in student mental health, research on UK undergraduates is lacking. Aim: Our aim was to redress this short fall by assessing how university student mental health in the UK in Autumn 2020 (during the pandemic) compared to previous years. Sample: 762 UK undergraduate students participated in the study. Methods: A well-validated, self-report, 21-item scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to assess mental health. Results were compared to data obtained using the same scale on similar, albeit smaller cohorts in each of the previous three years. Results: Autumn 2020 students reported greater levels of depression and anxiety than their peers from previous years. Stress was high but remained unchanged compared to previous years. Conclusion: Compared to previous years, UK students show elevated symptoms of mental health problems, underscoring the importance of mental health-oriented support for students.en
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Publication statusotheren
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Review statusnotRevieweden
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SponsorshipThis research was supported by a studentship from The Leverhulme Trust (Forest Edge Project).en
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CitationToth, E., Faherty, T., Mazaheri, A., & Raymond, J. E. (2021). Changes to student mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. PsychArchives. https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.4635en
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/4119
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4635
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychArchivesen
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Keyword(s)university studentsen
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Keyword(s)mental healthen
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Keyword(s)pandemicen
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Keyword(s)depressionen
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Keyword(s)anxietyen
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Keyword(s)stressen
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleChanges to student mental health during the Covid-19 pandemicen
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DRO typepreprinten